Embodiments of the inventive subject matter generally relate to the field of computers and, more particularly, to electronic design automation.
As the complexity of integrated circuit (IC) designs grows, Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) become more common to satisfy design requirements. An ECO may change logic to accommodate a performance requirement or correct the functionality of a design. ECOs are also submitted to address concerns of manufacturability. An ECO typically occurs at a late stage of the design process, after the design has been fully routed.
Electronic Design Automation tools include a router that routes nets after placement of elements, such as pins. The router routes nets in a 2 stage process that includes global routing and detailed routing. For global routing, the router determines an approximate path for a wire or net through a coarse grid. The router determines a path from tile to tile of the coarse grid to approximate the path. With the approximate paths determined, the router performs detailed routing. In detailed routing, the router determines the actual tracks and vias for the nets in accordance with the approximated paths from global routing.